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The Christ in Christmas

We are quickly approaching the day which we celebrate as the birth of Jesus Christ. But as the time gets nearer, I can’t help but notice the amount of “x” that I see replacing the first part of the word Christmas, a replacement which disgusts every part of my being when I see it. It leaves me to wonder “have we forgotten the Christ in Christmas?”

I remember one of my favourite Christmas Carols while growing up was C is for the Christ child. That song gave meaning to every letter in the word Christmas which brought so much warmth to my heart. I remember those sweet days hearing my dad sing to the Jim Reeves version of that song with much passion and pride in his voice that I could never help but sing along in enjoyment and internalization of every word he sang. That was one of the first songs that brought me a deeper appreciation and understanding of what actually happened those many years ago and continue to have an impact on the way I feel about the celebration of Christmas today. And you want to know what my favourite letter of that song was and still is ?? “”A”… A is for all He stands for”. But what does He stand for?

To me, He stands for Peace, Love, Unity, Caring, Sharing, Togetherness, and so many more that the list may be too long. To me, Christmas is about Christ, and note that His name is the beginning of the word Christmas. I sometimes feel that we have forgotten about the Christ in Christmas and have become so caught up in the commercial aspect of the season and have made receiving gifts more important than the true meaning of the season. Don’t get me wrong, I think sharing gifts is fine – the shepherds brought frankincense and myrrh as gifts on the birth of Jesus. Gifting allows for us to celebrate the aspect of sharing that Jesus stands for but all meaning of that sharing is lost when it is not done in the right way.

I am reminded here of the work of our very own Felix Henderson who chose to host a Christmas party for the vagrants in our society. He noted that “they are people too”. Now that to me is the true meaning of Christmas and what the season is all about, doing for our fellow man what Christ would do for us.

So I urge you Lovies to have a wonderful season with friends and family, sharing in the gifts that we have been blessed with, remembering that Christ is the true reason for the season and that without Christ there would be no Christmas.

Happy Holidays Lovies and I leave you with the song by Jim Reeves and hope you sing along no matter where you may be.